After a dismal eighth place finish in Rio Games, much is expected from the Manpreet-led side.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Surprised by the sacking of his elder brother as India's Davis Cup skipper, the legendary Vijay Amritraj says Anand Amritraj is the country's best captain in the last three decades and it is quite against the trend to remove a winning leader.
The Indian football team achieved its best-ever FIFA ranking in over two decades as it jumped to 101 in the latest list released on Thursday.
Hamad Al Montashari won the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year award after prominent players from Japan, South Korea and Iran were deemed ineligible.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Mushfiqur Rahim stroked a brilliant 99, while Mustafizur Rahman picked up four wickets as Bangladesh outclassed Pakistan by 37 runs to qualify for the final, in the Asia Cup in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Former Pakistan captain Muhammad Yousuf has picked India as the strong contender to win the ICC World Twenty20 as he feels the home team has the batting firepower.
A summary of Ranji matches played on Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the government will keep in close touch with all relevant groups to ensure a virus outbreak does not have affect the Summer Olympics. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said organisers are not considering cancelling the Olympics, which start on July 24.
The evening start for the Davis Cup tie against Spain has caught the Indian team by surprise with captain Anand Amritraj calling it an 'unfortunate' decision that has compromised the country's home advantage.
Rohan Bopanna and debutant N Sriram Balaji were clinical in routing their rivals as India sealed the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Uzbekistan by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
Yuki Bhambri rescued India with an impressive win following Somdev Devvarman's shock defeat, leaving the visitors locked 1-1 with New Zealand on day one of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tie, in Christchurch on Friday.
'Two points are not that important. Country is important, those 40 soldiers who lost their lives are far more important than a cricket match. If we let go of a World Cup final, the country should be ready for it. Certain section of society says that don't mix sports with politics but Jawans are far more important than a game of cricket.
Eighteen-year-old Aditi Ashok was the brightest star on the country's golfing circuit this year and was fittingly named the Ladies European Tour's Rookie of the Year for becoming the first Indian to win two back-to-back titles in her first year on the tour. Here is a look back at how India's golfers fared in 2016
World No 15 India will now compete in the Zone Group action later this year.
India will look for another colossal victory and inch closer to the semi-finals when they square off against an embattled Bangladesh.
Juventus rehire Allegri.
Pakistan bowling came to the fore after Mohammad Hafeez's unbeaten fifty as they defeated World T20 defending champions Sri Lanka by 15 runs in their warmup match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. Hafeez struck an unbeaten 70 from 49 balls to help Pakistan post 157/5 before they restricted Sri Lanka for 142/9 in front of a cheering crowd of more than 10,000. Sri Lanka were wayward with their bowling especially in the death overs and bowled eight wide balls, including five from Dushmantha Chamara, further helping Pakistan's cause.
Morocco and Iran's hopes of making a mark at the World Cup before a ball has been kicked, and they head into their opening match in St Petersburg on Friday knowing defeat could likely mean an early exit.
With Jadeja almost clinching victory with a boundary and Khaleel Ahmed scampering home for his life to tie the scores, only a single was all that was required off two deliveries.
Undergoing a transition phase, defending champions Sri Lanka may not be in their elements in the build-up to the ICC World T20 but skipper Angelo Mathews today said it is good to carry the underdogs tag as it does not put the team under pressure. "The fact that we are coming as underdogs releases the pressure. Yes, we didn't do well in the Asia Cup but we're getting better day by day. I'm confident of my team's progress," Mathews said on the eve of their Super 10 opener against Afghanistan. Mathews said that his team needed just one win to get the momentum back. "We're not looking too far ahead at the moment and we will take one game at a time. We need one good game to get our momentum back," said the skipper. Afghanistan almost pulled off an upset during the 2015 World Cup in Australia when they threatened to chase down 237 before being bowled out for 232 in 49.4 overs and Mathews said Afghans were no more the minnows.
A 27-member Pakistan cricket contingent left for India to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup, finally ending days of uncertainty over their participation in the mega event. The team will be reaching Kolkata via Abu Dhabi. The Pakistan squad including 15 players, 12 officials and support staff reached the Allama Iqbal international airport amidst tight security and boarded a flight hours after the Pakistan government finally gave the PCB the green signal to fly to India to take part in the ICC event. Due to a long stay in Abu Dhabi the squad will reach Kolkata later this evening. Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity in the team. "Come on together we can do it," he tweeted a message aimed at motivating the players. He told the media that though the departure of the team for India had been hit by uncertainty and security issues, the focus of the players now would only be on cricket and doing well in the world event.
India golfer Anirban Lahiri is making the country proud and on India's 68th Independence Day, he gave his countrymen a couple of big reasons to be proud.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
Sunil Chhetri said the players should enjoy the tournament once they have prepared well for it.
Star shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, will chase individual gold medals but doubles would also under the spotlight as India would aim to retain the mixed team title and continue their consistent run at the Commonwealth Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
India sealed the numero uno spot in the International Cricket Council Twenty20 rankings after Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side won the Asia Cup in Mirpur and will now enter the World T20 as the top team.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Pakistan are now on 286 points while the next four teams are within two points of each other
During Sandeep Patil's four-year tenure as chief selector, India continued to be dominant at home in Tests but struggled to win an away series outside Asia, except for the West Indies, as it suffered series losses in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Earlier, the women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy suffered their second successive loss in the event, going down fighting 19-21, 20-22 to Bulgaria's Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva to bow out of contention.
I-League champions Bengaluru FC will play against Jordanian club Al Wehdat SC in their AFC Champions League Preliminary Stage 2 fixture in an away tie on January 31.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been beset by controversy, but for the visionaries bringing soccer back to life in Afghanistan it represents a shining, magical light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.
India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Deepika won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award for men and women, respectively, at the Hockey India second annual awards, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
